Change means more benefits Change Eligible for benefits Townships are looking to gain thousands of dollars in tax revenue from the hospital's new ownership.

Kelly Kelch doesn't expect that Memorial Hospital's new medical campus will create a windfall of tax revenue for West Manchester Township.

However, the township's manager said he does expect the money will help make running the municipality, at least financially, a bit easier.

"It would go to the bottom line of the township," Kelch said. "We haven't assessed how much money this will bring in. When it does come in, that will be great. We can put it to good use."

Recently, Community Health Systems agreed to buy Memorial Hospital and its associated properties, including the Surgical Center of York. Once Memorial is taken into the CHS fold, the hospital will become a tax-paying entity.

And, while CHS-owned Memorial Hospital expects to benefit from a jump in services, Kelch and his counterparts look to gain in other ways.

Started in 1945 by a group of physicians, Memorial Hospital became a nonprofit in July 1949, said Josette Myers, a spokeswoman for the hospital.

The hospital, at 325 S. Belmont St. in Spring Garden Township, is assessed at $14.2 million and is tax exempt, said John Fedor, the county's director of assessment/chief assessor.

As a for-profit, CHS is responsible for paying property taxes, Myers said.

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"Those tax dollars are new revenues that support community schools, improve community infrastructure such as roads and bridges, and pay the salaries of municipal employees such as firefighters and police officers," said Tomi Galin, a spokeswoman for Community Health Systems.

What does that mean for Spring Garden Township and West Manchester Township? Thousands of dollars in new tax revenue.

For example, Spring Garden Township, which has a millage rate of 2.44 mills, will, based on the hospital's current assessment, start to collect $34,694 in annual taxes. York Suburban School District stands to collect $290,819 in annual property taxes based on a millage rate of 20.453 mills.

And, while that extra revenue would not be enough on its own to balance Spring Garden's budget, the money would reduce the amount of surplus funds the township would need to use to balance its books, said Gregory Maust, manager of the township.

Over the years, the assessed value of tax-exempt properties in the township has grown as a result of new development among properties such as York College, he said.

And, while the township does request contributions in lieu of taxes from those who are tax-exempt, what is paid is not equal to what Spring Garden would receive in property taxes, Maust said.

"Anything that would change the hospital's classification, certainly that is revenue that would come to the township that is not being realized right now," he said.

The township can expect tax money from the hospital for at least five years, or the time it takes Memorial to build its replacement hospital at the former Hawk Lake Golf Course in West Manchester Township.

The new hospital is estimated to built within about five years, Myers said. Memorial is paying tax on the course's 128 acres and other nearby property it bought in 2008. That vacant land and the nearby property has a combined assessed value of about $1.1 million.

For the township, that means roughly $232 a year in taxes at a rate of 0.214 mills. For West York School District, that translates into $21,562 in annual property taxes at a rate of 19.8121.

However, once the hospital his built, those collected taxes should jump.

"We are very excited about the hospital being back on track, especially since they are changing their status from nonprofit to a for-profit company," Kelch said. "We were happy to have them in any capacity, but this is just cream on top of the cake."

For now, Kelch said the township's focus will remain on making sure that any final land development filed by the hospital benefits both Memorial and township residents.

The hospital has not filed any formal plans, he said.

However, for more than a year, the township has worked with the hospital's traffic engineer and state transportation officials to determine how people will get into and out of the property, potential road improvements and traffic signal adjustments.

"At this point, we haven't seen any financial impacts this might have," Kelch said.